News

Sweetwater Union High District Rejects $12 Million Loan From County

Tue, 08/20/2019

The Sweetwater Union High School District has rejected a $12 million loan from the San Diego County Office of Education.

This was not unexpected. The relationship between the county and the district is tense. District officials say they already have a plan to pay back their debt by June of next year. They have also promised to quit borrowing from Mello-Roos funds to cover their losses.

Sweetwater is $15 million to $20 million in the hole.

The vote to reject the loan offer was unanimous. At the meeting, Superintendent Dr. Karen Janney also criticized comments the Office of Education had made.

“The statements in the letter from SDCOE, we believe, were made to convince our staff and community that our adopted budget is deliberately not telling the truth about our fiscal reality simply because San Diego County Office of Education does not agree with our solutions nor our projections,” she said.

Students and parents say they are innocent bystanders caught in the middle. They have complained about the cuts to services such as bus routes as a result of fiscal mismanagement.